Tears of Those Left Behind
by elfandtroll
Summary: Tears fall for the fallen when a time of joy and celebration turns to one of sorrow and mourning. A songfic to Evanescence's "My Immortal" that focuses on Hermione's reminiscences on her past, present, and future with- or without- her fallen friend.


Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I don't own the song "My Immortal" by Evanescence. I don't really own anything. Except the plot.

A/N: All italics are taken from the song "My Immortal" by Evanescence. Please read the lyrics, as I think they really add to the story and express what's going on. I rearranged parts of song, so they're in a different order than in the actual song. It just made the story flow more, IMO. Sorry if that irritates some of you, didn't mean to. :D

Tears of Those Left Behind

The sun shone brightly in the clear blue sky overhead. A slender young woman with curly brown hair stood next to a patch of freshly dug earth, the green grass a startling contrast to its bleakness.

That day should have been a day of celebration, of laughter, joy and dancing. Voldemort, who had been terrorizing the wizarding world for countless years, had finally fallen, killed the day before in the final battle between himself and Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived.

And who was now The-One-Who-Died-For-Us.

Hermione stared vacantly ahead, a spark of anger struggling to surface at the brightness of the day. There should gave been fierce storms, howling winds, dark clouds, anything other than the sunny, mild weather that dawned on the day of Harry's funeral.

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_But though you're still with me_

_I've been alone all along_

She felt numb and empty, all emotion drained from her after what had transpired. The day before, Voldemort had attacked Hogwarts, and Harry, grim-faced and determined, had gone to face him. Hermione and Ron had stayed behind, helping to fight the Death Eaters that had broken through and to try and heal those who had been injured.

_Cause your presence still lingers here_

_And it won't leave me alone_

The last words he had said to her were, "Be safe." He had smiled at her, but it was a sad, resigned smile, as if he had known what he was going to face. What was going to happen.

A tear rolled down her cheek.

She had never imagined that the last time she would see him would be surrounded by pain, fear, and the haunting screams of the dying.

_These wounds won't seem to heal_

_This pain is just too real_

_There's just too much that time cannot erase_

They had been together for seven years, ever since the day where they had met on the train. She, a bushy-haired know-it-all, and he, a small, scrawny boy with a mess of black hair and broken glasses. They had overcome countless obstacles together, faced innumerable challenges together. And had always been triumphant.

Except in that one final battle.

_When you cried, I'd wipe away all of your tears_

_When you'd scream, I'd fight away all of your fears_

_And I held your hand through all of these years_

A troll had brought them together, and they had formed a bond strong enough to withstand countless tests and trials, powerful enough to last through everything they encountered.

Except death.

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_But though you're still with me_

_I've been alone all along_

She knelt, tears falling unnoticed down ashen cheeks, and slowly traced the name carved into the headstone.

Harry James Potter

1980-1997

Beloved son, student, and friend

"He sacrificed himself to save us all."

She couldn't believe that he was gone. That she would never again see his smile, hear him laugh, or scold him for leaving his homework until the last minute and complaining about teachers. They would never sit together again in the common room, laughing and teasing each other.

The previous day had dawned bright and clear. Hermione had never imagined that by its end, her world would be in shambles, her life and happiness destroyed in two hate-filled words and an eerily beautiful flash of green light.

She both hated and loved the color green. Green for the Avada Kedavra spell. Green for Harry's vivid eyes.

How ironic that the color of a killing curse represented hope, peace, harmony, and safety. Everything that fateful day had not been. Everything she desperately wished it had been.

_You used to captivate me by your resonating light_

_Now I'm bound by the life you left behind_

_Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams_

He had been buried next to his parents' grave, and Sirius' empty one. All of them killed by Voldemort and his minions. All leaving behind shattered lives and broken hearts.

Thousands had attended his funeral. Friends, teachers, classmates. Most of the wizarding world had come to mourn the loss of their savior. Hermione had wanted to scream at the masses of people crowding around his grave. For years they had scorned him, belittled him, turned him into a scapegoat, yet now they were mourning him. They had no right to stand beside his grave. It was for them that he had died, to free them all from the web that inextricably bound them to Voldemort, to a madman's desire to dominate, conquer, and destroy the world that had turned their backs on him. As they had turned their backs on Harry.

He had been determined to save them from the horrors that Voldemort craved to force upon them, and for determination had paid his life.

_I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_But though you're still with me_

_I've been alone all along_

"Goodbye Harry," she whispered. "Rest in peace. Be happy, wherever you are."

With those final words to her fallen friend, she stood, and walked slowly away, to try and rebuild her life with what broken pieces she had left.

But you still have all of me 

A/N: Wow, that was sad. My dad was the one who first played this song for me, and said it would make a "kick-ass Harry Potter song". I said yeah, if it was in something where Harry died. I've been wanting to write this for a while, so here it is. Hope you enjoyed it. Please, review, as its my first Harry Potter fic!


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